Ken Fuchs Interview (Shark Tank + Bachelor Franchise Director) + Black Panther + Cobra Kai

Speaker 1 (00:00:00):

Welcome to the Pop Culture Show with Barnes, Leslie, and Cubby.

Barnes (00:00:04):

Welcome to the Pop Culture Show. Coming up today, Emmy winning director Ken Fuchs from The Bachelor, Shark Tank, Bachelorette, Family Feud. Cannot remember them all but I'm sure he will tell us. He's coming up. He's got some good inside scoop, guys.

Leslie (00:00:18):

Behind the scenes.

Cubby (00:00:19):

Great behind the scenes stuff, yeah.

Barnes (00:00:21):

I cannot wait to talk to him because there's so many things ... All those shows are all about behind the scenes. I mean, that's what makes them. Please rate, review, and subscribe. Please rate, review, and subscribe. We have some sad news. We're announcing right now. It wasn't planned but we're going to go and let you know that we are all three moving to Denmark.

Cubby (00:00:42):

Yeah, because we're huge there.

Leslie (00:00:43):

We have to.

Barnes (00:00:43):

We're huge in Denmark. We're number 10 in Denmark. So we've decided all to take the tax breaks and everything that comes with moving to Denmark. So we'll be heading that way soon. So thank you.

Cubby (00:00:56):

Also Australia. We've been making some ground up there.

Barnes (00:00:58):

And Great Britain. It's catching on everywhere but America.

Leslie (00:01:04):

What's the missing link?

Barnes (00:01:05):

Maybe tell somebody about us. I don't know. Help a brother out.

Cubby (00:01:10):

Follow us on social media if you could. We are the Pop Culture Show on Instagram. Even if you can go on your own Facebook page and talk about us, spread the word, every little bit helps. We're giving away money on this episode.

Barnes (00:01:22):

How about Tag a Friend Week? How about that?

Cubby (00:01:24):

I love that.

Leslie (00:01:26):

I like that idea.

Barnes (00:01:26):

Somewhere in your social media, just write a little something sweet and nice about the little show that could and say, "Hey, if you guys are looking for a good podcast, check these guys out. They're number 10 in Denmark," whatever you have to do. Cubby hit on something key. We're about to give away some money. I hope this doesn't go horribly wrong. It's called Pop Quiz and it's our first week giving away money. It's 50 bucks.

Leslie (00:01:48):

Fingers crossed. 50 bucks is a lot.

Cubby (00:01:50):

And it gets bigger.

Barnes (00:01:52):

Yeah, root for them to fail because next week, it'll be 100. If not, we'll just reset to 50. I'm saying right now, you know the question, both of you. What would you say on the hard scale, on a one to 10, 10 being the hardest?

Cubby (00:02:08):

I'm going to go eight, because you really had to pay attention.

Leslie (00:02:10):

It's a tough one.

Barnes (00:02:11):

It's not just like, "Hey, what color is the sky?" I mean, you had to have paid attention and not just like loosely.

Cubby (00:02:21):

How do we find this contestant?

Leslie (00:02:23):

Are they in Denmark?

Barnes (00:02:24):

Comment. They just comment. Yeah, it's the Denmark. It's one of those people. No, we have a post at the top tagged on our Facebook page and you just put Quiz Me in the comments and then we're going to pick somebody. That's it. I mean, it's pretty easy and I picked her at random. Her name is Christine Fitzgerald. Should be coming up in a few moments. This will be a video segment so you have to check it out. Because I'm sure there are going to be technical problems of some sort that you'll enjoy.

Cubby (00:02:50):

You'll get to see my shirt.

Barnes (00:02:51):

Cubby, this is ridiculous. What is that?

Leslie (00:02:54):

His shirt matches my fuchsia microphone.

Barnes (00:02:57):

What is it?

Cubby (00:02:57):

My wife found this in Marshall's. It was on sale for 5.99. I love retro and this is a circa 1991, saved by the bell kind of fashion statement.

Barnes (00:03:08):

It's about three sizes too small for you, first.

Cubby (00:03:10):

Yeah. This is called quarantine life right here.

Barnes (00:03:13):

How about not show-

Leslie (00:03:13):

The COVID-10.

Barnes (00:03:15):

He just raised his shirt.

Leslie (00:03:17):

COVID-10 or COVID-20?

Barnes (00:03:19):

You were already showing a little too much tummy for me.

Cubby (00:03:22):

I know. No, I'm not going to lie to you. I've probably gained 15 pounds since March.

Barnes (00:03:26):

I don't care about pounds, I'm just talking about skin. Your shirt was, it looks like you're wearing your youngest son you don't have shirt.

Cubby (00:03:34):

Well, this is a bad angle. I'll tell you that right now.

Leslie (00:03:37):

I kind of feel like we should give away his shirt as well as the 50 bucks.

Cubby (00:03:42):

That should be the losing price. Are we going to keep this going? Like if she wins today, are we going to ... I know it's not going to roll over. But are we going to have 50 bucks next week?

Barnes (00:03:50):

Yeah, why not?

Cubby (00:03:52):

Okay, so we're going to keep this going. All right.

Leslie (00:03:54):

Are we the only podcast giving away money?

Barnes (00:03:56):

I haven't heard of any podcasts giving away any money.

Leslie (00:03:59):

I haven't either.

Cubby (00:04:00):

All right, last question and I'll move on. What if this keeps rolling over and we're up to out of our budget? What if it's like $900?

Barnes (00:04:09):

The minute we opened our mouths, we're out of our budget.

Cubby (00:04:12):

True.

Barnes (00:04:14):

We all exchange different weeks paying with our Venmo. Cubby's got next. College football's back, guys.

Leslie (00:04:21):

I had no idea.

Barnes (00:04:22):

And NFL.

Cubby (00:04:24):

Yeah, it was good to see that.

Barnes (00:04:24):

This week, NFL is back. I mean, they were the most boring of the boring games, no offense, but they weren't exciting. What was interesting ... Did you watch any ... Well, Leslie, how many did you watch?

Leslie (00:04:35):

I didn't even know it started so ...

Barnes (00:04:35):

Cubby, did you watch?

Leslie (00:04:35):

... carry on.

Cubby (00:04:39):

I watched Marshall play Eastern Kentucky for 10 minutes and that was really boring.

Barnes (00:04:45):

You noticed the camera angles?

Cubby (00:04:47):

No.

Barnes (00:04:48):

They've moved the cameras up in the stands and they're angling them down so you don't see the stands. I thought it was very interesting. Watch the next time you watch a game. So they put the cameras-

Cubby (00:04:58):

They did have a few people at the game. There were a few people ...

Barnes (00:05:00):

I know but they're trying purposely not to show the empty stands.

Cubby (00:05:03):

Correct.

Barnes (00:05:04):

I thought it was interesting.

Leslie (00:05:06):

Do they pipe in ... I'm just asking because I haven't watched. Are they piping in sound effects and crowd noises?

Barnes (00:05:11):

I haven't been to a game yet, but I heard they were going to.

Cubby (00:05:16):

The NBA and the NHL, they're doing a good job of making it sound as real as possible and look as real as possible. They've been doing a great job. With the Marshall game yesterday, had real fans. It sounded like a high school game. But it was good to see it back.

Barnes (00:05:30):

You know what? They could be on to something. Maybe that's what we should do for the Pop Culture Show. Let's just pipe in fans.

Leslie (00:05:35):

We need it.

Cubby (00:05:36):

Crowd noise.

Barnes (00:05:37):

How about fake people email us all the time?

Cubby (00:05:39):

The Kentucky Derby, too, was something that I forgot about, that normally I would be all about. That happened on Saturday.

Barnes (00:05:45):

Yep.

Leslie (00:05:45):

Completely didn't see that. Did you guys watch the VMAs because they used these really cool virtual reality stages and they opened the show with the weekend, which was phenomenal. That performance was phenomenal. Then Lady Gaga with her masks.

Cubby (00:06:00):

You guys were talking about Venmo, you were talking about Venmo a minute ago, maybe you can help me with this because last week I got hacked. I'm not sure how it happened.

Leslie (00:06:09):

Uh-oh.

Barnes (00:06:09):

You got hacked on Venmo?

Cubby (00:06:11):

Well, no, no, no. Actually, it reminded me, it was on PayPal. So I have a credit card attached to my PayPal account and I ... Don't laugh at me. I've called QVC a couple of times and ordered stuff.

Leslie (00:06:23):

A couple meaning how many?

Cubby (00:06:26):

Two times in the last year. So the only time I've used my PayPal account is through the credit card on QVC. Anyway, long story short, my credit card alerts me if anything over $100 is happening. And I got an alert that a online order was placed for $900 for a Roomba on QVC.

Barnes (00:06:46):

Is that the vacuum that moves?

Cubby (00:06:48):

The vacuum that moves. And I clearly didn't order it. I asked my wife she says, "No. Are you crazy? I wouldn't do that." I didn't know where to begin. Do I call QVC first? Do I call my credit card first or do I call PayPal?

Barnes (00:06:59):

PayPal is fast.

Leslie (00:07:01):

They are?

Barnes (00:07:01):

They'll call you right back.

Cubby (00:07:03):

What I ended up doing is PayPal, they helped me out a lot and they told me to cancel my credit card and change my password on my PayPal. And then I called QVC and canceled the order. It was going to a different address. Whoever did this had my name on it, used my billing address, and it was being shipped to their address, which actually was 30 minutes away from our house. I looked it up on Zillow. And it was actually kind of a nice house. I'm like, "Is this a mistake maybe? Is it the same name as me?" I don't know.

Barnes (00:07:36):

Cubby, you order more than any human being that I know so maybe it was a mistake.

Cubby (00:07:42):

No, it was not ...

Leslie (00:07:44):

Wait, I'm following this. Did you go to that person's house and knock on the door?

Cubby (00:07:48):

No, I'm tempted to because it pisses me off. But also I'm a nice guy, as you know, and you guys are all nice people and I'm always willing to give the benefit of the doubt. And I'm almost thinking maybe QVC made a mistake because it's the same name as me, first and last. It is New Jersey, it's where I live.

Barnes (00:08:04):

That leans to a mistake if it's the same name.

Cubby (00:08:07):

It's the same but they could have used my name because of billing purposes.

Leslie (00:08:11):

Barnes would have gone to the house 10 hours ago.

Barnes (00:08:14):

Armed.

Cubby (00:08:15):

So I canceled my credit card and QVC and all that.

Barnes (00:08:19):

I think it sounds like a mistake. Same name.

Leslie (00:08:21):

Wait a second, Cubby, quick question. Is there a possibility that after one of the five o'clock Jager shots that you might have called QVC ...

Barnes (00:08:31):

I want a Roomba.

Leslie (00:08:31):

Come on.

Cubby (00:08:34):

Actually, not at all because my wife and I talk about every big purchase and she would have killed me if I had done that without her knowing.

Leslie (00:08:42):

That's expensive. I didn't know that's how much the thing was.

Cubby (00:08:44):

It was like $850.

Speaker 1 (00:08:46):

Get money. Get paid. Welcome to Pop Quiz on the Pop Culture Show. Get one question about last week's show correct and win cash. Here we go.

Barnes (00:09:00):

Money, money, money, money. Say hey to Christine Fitzgerald. Hey, Christine.

Christine (00:09:04):

Hi.

Cubby (00:09:04):

Welcome, Christine. Where are you at right now?

Christine (00:09:07):

I am in Woodstock, Georgia.

Barnes (00:09:08):

Nice.

Cubby (00:09:08):

Cool.

Barnes (00:09:09):

You're the first person ever to play Pop Quiz and ...

Christine (00:09:11):

I know. I've been listening to you guys since 1996. So this is just ... I'm so happy.

Barnes (00:09:16):

Well, that's great.

Leslie (00:09:17):

Thank you.

Barnes (00:09:18):

We just started the show this March so that's amazing.

Christine (00:09:20):

I know. I've been listening to the show since episode one and telling all my friends. It's been great.

Barnes (00:09:26):

Well, thank you.

Leslie (00:09:26):

Thank you so much.

Cubby (00:09:28):

It means a lot. Thank you.

Barnes (00:09:29):

We knew somebody was listening. We just didn't know who.

Christine (00:09:31):

Well here I am. Hi.

Barnes (00:09:34):

Someone like you who listens a lot, this is going to be a no-brainer, you're going to win the money, which is going to make everyone else mad. Because if you don't win the 50 bucks, it's going to go up next week.

Christine (00:09:44):

Exactly.

Cubby (00:09:45):

So are you ready to play, Christine?

Christine (00:09:47):

I am ready to play.

Cubby (00:09:48):

All right. I mean, it's rather easy for you if you listen to every second of the episode last week.

Christine (00:09:53):

I did. I did.

Cubby (00:09:53):

So here we go. Charles Esten was our guest last week. We talked about how he auditioned for Band of Brothers, but he lost the role to what actor? I need the first and last name. You have 10 seconds. Go.

Christine (00:10:10):

Damian Lewis.

Barnes (00:10:10):

Two seconds. That's unbelievable.

Christine (00:10:18):

I love him so much so I listened to that part very intently. I'm a big fan of his.

Barnes (00:10:23):

We thought this is a hard question.

Leslie (00:10:24):

Excellent. Excellent. Excellent.

Barnes (00:10:26):

Okay, Cubby, get her Venmo and give her 50 bucks.

Leslie (00:10:30):

Congratulations.

Cubby (00:10:31):

I will.

Christine (00:10:31):

Thank you so much.

Leslie (00:10:33):

We appreciate you listening, too.

Christine (00:10:34):

Absolutely. Absolutely. I'm so glad you're back. It's made my Monday so much happier.

Barnes (00:10:40):

This is awesome. Well, please, hold on one second. We're going to put you in the green room and we'll get your Venmo or your Apple Pay or your whatever, your PayPal, and we'll hit you with 50 bucks.

Christine (00:10:50):

Thank you so much.

Barnes (00:10:51):

You're very welcome.

Leslie (00:10:51):

It's actually like, this turned out to be pretty easy, Barnes. Seriously, all you have to do to join in on the fun and win some easy money is just comment, "Quiz me. Quiz me." popcultureshow.com. Just go to our Facebook, the pinned page and just say Quiz Me to win cash.

Barnes (00:11:08):

There's a pinned post at the very top. Just on that and put Quiz Me and you're set.

Cubby (00:11:12):

Christine, can you do us a favor?

Christine (00:11:14):

Yes.

Cubby (00:11:14):

Now that you love us so much, can you post on your social how much you love this new podcast called the Pop Culture Show and you should listen to it just on your Facebook?

Christine (00:11:22):

Absolutely.

Cubby (00:11:23):

Just spread the word because we have five people, I think, listening.

Christine (00:11:26):

I will absolutely.

Barnes (00:11:27):

Now that you're on payroll. So it's [crosstalk 00:11:29]

Cubby (00:11:30):

You're getting paid now. Exactly.

Christine (00:11:31):

Exactly.

Barnes (00:11:32):

Congratulations, Christine. Thanks for playing Pop Quiz.

Christine (00:11:34):

Thank you so much.

Leslie (00:11:34):

A lot of celebrity news this week, guys. And at the end, we're going to talk about the highest paid celebrities. Some of them I'm sure you'll be like a no-brainer. But I saw this and thought it was really interesting. What do you think is the biggest most liked tweet of all time?

Barnes (00:11:51):

Well, it had to be Chadwick Boseman.

Leslie (00:11:53):

It is. It's the tweets sent from his official account announcing his passing. That is the most-liked Tweet of all time.

Barnes (00:12:00):

I've seen that. Story has been around all week. I've been seeing it everywhere. I was surprised that that ... I wonder what it was before that.

Leslie (00:12:06):

I'm not sure about that but there's a couple other stories. I don't know if you've seen some of his fans, the Black Panther fans, are saying, "Hey, Marvel, you can't recast the Black Panther." Because there's a couple of movies coming out. So I don't know what they're going to do but fans are up in arms going, "You cannot recast this part."

Cubby (00:12:24):

What are they thinking? Re-title?

Leslie (00:12:25):

I don't know. I don't know. It's just he gave such a brilliant performance.

Barnes (00:12:29):

Why not honor him with casting it in a ... I don't think you need to shut the franchise down. It's horrible that he's passed. But I think he would probably say, "No, you've got to keep this going."

Cubby (00:12:41):

Right. And dedicate it to him when the movie starts.

Leslie (00:12:44):

I'll tell you what, another big score though for Netflix. They're going to get his final movie that he ever made. It's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. It's about August Wilson, played by a Pulitzer Prize winning writer August Wilson and it's about this blues icon name Ma Rainey. Netflix got it. I mean, Netflix is just on fire. I've been reading all this stuff this week about Netflix. Did you see where they're going to offer a bunch of free stuff on Netflix this week?

Barnes (00:13:14):

They're going to streaming Stranger Things maybe and ...

Leslie (00:13:17):

The unpay wall. It's a netflix.com watch free and they have The Two Popes, the first episode of Stranger Things, Birdbox, a lot of stuff.

Cubby (00:13:30):

The power of Netflix, Cobra Kai was on YouTube a year and a half ago, that was the Karate Kid reboot. I saw it a year and a half ago. But all weekend, people have been talking about, "Cobra Kai on Netflix. Just binged it. It's so good." I'm like, "I knew about this a year and a half ago." But because Netflix picked it up, it took it to a whole new level.

Barnes (00:13:49):

Well, actually YouTube vacated it.

Cubby (00:13:51):

Did they?

Barnes (00:13:52):

You're right. They're getting out of original production.

Cubby (00:13:56):

I didn't know that.

Barnes (00:13:56):

So they bought the rights to those first two, but yes, they did pick it up. What's wild is there are people talking about it and I just can't ... I tried to start it, I'm 10 minutes in. I have a hard time with retro stuff.

Cubby (00:14:11):

It's not bad though. Give it a chance, please.

Barnes (00:14:13):

I am. I'm 10 minutes in and I'm going to give Staten Island King, whatever that thing, a chance.

Leslie (00:14:17):

Staten Island King, whatever. Now I heard about the show, Carrie Underwood tweeted about it and everybody's talking about it. But I had no idea, Cubby, that it had started on YouTube. It's the same when you guys made fun of me about the Michael Jordan, the documentary The Last Dance. I mean, I never watched it on ESPN. It had a whole new life on Netflix.

Barnes (00:14:39):

It's so good. But Cobra Kai was filmed here in Atlanta mostly.

Leslie (00:14:42):

Cobra Kai.

Barnes (00:14:43):

You can't tell watching it.

Cubby (00:14:44):

Check out CBS Sunday morning. Great piece on Netflix and how they have just exploded ...

Barnes (00:14:50):

Dominated.

Cubby (00:14:51):

... since the pandemic started.

Leslie (00:14:53):

How about a $100 million Netflix deal from Meghan and Harry?

Cubby (00:14:59):

Is it official?

Leslie (00:15:00):

Well, I don't know if it's official but apparently they're talking to them about TV show, documentaries, films, scripted kid's programs, everything.

Barnes (00:15:09):

Why is everybody all up on them? What do they have to say? I mean serious, why are they such a hot commodity?

Leslie (00:15:17):

I think people actually really liked him. He was like the bad brother and a lot of people were fans of hers when she was an actress. I don't know what the allure is.

Barnes (00:15:25):

A lot of people think she's an opportunist.

Leslie (00:15:29):

That has been obviously ... I don't know if you ever saw some of the vicious things that Piers Morgan had to say about her.

Barnes (00:15:35):

I'll start with the royal family, for one. What do you think her ass is on the outside? It's just strange.

Cubby (00:15:41):

Yeah, I don't care about it, to be honest with you. I know some people live and breathe it.

Leslie (00:15:45):

Okay, who has 200 million followers on Instagram?

Barnes (00:15:49):

Not us.

Leslie (00:15:50):

First female to reach that, Ariana Grande. 200 million.

Cubby (00:15:55):

I remember when Katy Perry was on top for a while and Justin Bieber. But Ariana Grande now, huh?

Leslie (00:15:59):

Guess who's second place?

Barnes (00:16:00):

You know what would be a fun bit is between the three of us, we have to try and book a guest that we know one of the other two can't stand. That would be a great segment.

Leslie (00:16:12):

So you're saying you want me to get Meghan Markle on or ...

Barnes (00:16:15):

I don't even know who that is. Oh, yeah, that's her. I'm saying someone notable that you've been like, "Ugh, really?" Cubby would try to book Ariana Grande on the show and then I'd have to stomach it the whole time.

Cubby (00:16:27):

You would love it because she has 200 million followers and she would turn that to the podcast.

Leslie (00:16:31):

True. Okay, coming in second place is Kylie Jenner with 193 million Instagram followers.

Cubby (00:16:41):

I'm still suspect because you can buy so many things. I still don't know if they're real people but whatever.

Leslie (00:16:47):

All right, quiz for you guys. When was the last time Arnold Schwarzenegger was on television? Because he's coming back.

Barnes (00:16:55):

He hosted The Apprentice.

Leslie (00:16:57):

Yep. Celebrity Apprentice. 2017.

Barnes (00:17:00):

It was awful.

Leslie (00:17:03):

Well, now he is going to start a global spy adventure for television revolving around a father and a daughter.

Barnes (00:17:11):

That might work.

Leslie (00:17:11):

I know this coming back to TV.

Cubby (00:17:12):

Do you think he went away for a while after all that whole housekeeping incident?

Leslie (00:17:17):

Yes, such an embarrassment and sad actually. Mariah Carey just got a big Apple TV deal. She's going to do a magical Christmas special with a lot of big guests. I wonder how much she got paid for that.

Barnes (00:17:29):

Cubby, you know Mariah Carey?

Cubby (00:17:31):

I don't know her, interviewed her a million times.

Barnes (00:17:33):

I asked because New York, I mean, you get a lot of people on there.

Cubby (00:17:36):

She used to come up to Z100 all the time.

Barnes (00:17:38):

Is she nice?

Cubby (00:17:40):

She's really nice, but a lot of maintenance involved. I mean, you know ...

Leslie (00:17:45):

Can't deny that voice.

Cubby (00:17:47):

They come in an hour ahead of time before an interview because everything is filmed for online, and her people come in an hour before. "Where she's sitting? Where's the lights?"

Barnes (00:17:56):

Where's your president?

Cubby (00:17:56):

"Don't film this side." It's pretty high maintenance.

Leslie (00:18:00):

She does have a side. I remember that, right? Which side is one ...

Cubby (00:18:03):

It's her left. No. Let me think. She doesn't want her left really to be seen a lot. It's mainly her right. That's what she prefers.

Barnes (00:18:10):

What's wrong with her left?

Cubby (00:18:11):

I don't know. I think it looks fine. But you'll notice a lot of her videos and pictures, she's really, right side is more ...

Barnes (00:18:19):

[inaudible 00:18:19] a devil tidbit, Cubby.

Leslie (00:18:20):

I love that. They're celebrating the 25th anniversary of All I Want For Christmas. That always makes the charts every year anyway because it's one of the most popular Christmas songs. You know what she should do is invite Nick Cannon on the show.

Barnes (00:18:34):

Don't they hate each other?

Leslie (00:18:36):

I don't know if they hated ... I think they're amicable, right?

Cubby (00:18:39):

I agree. I think they're civil. I think it might have gotten bad there for a second the first it happened, but I think they've cleared the air a bit.

Leslie (00:18:47):

So I didn't see a lot of fanfare on David Blaine and flying with the balloons but it just happened. I guess I did it live on YouTube, but he floated over the Arizona desert holding about 50 helium balloons. Did you watch the video for that?

Barnes (00:19:04):

I saw a clip of it.

Cubby (00:19:04):

I saw the clip. That was it.

Barnes (00:19:07):

YouTube pay for that?

Leslie (00:19:09):

I'm not sure. He floated 24,900 feet, which is about 4.7 miles and then he parachuted back to the ground.

Cubby (00:19:18):

Is it bad that I just don't care? He did a few things 20 years ago. It was really kind of cool.

Leslie (00:19:25):

So weird I didn't hear anything about it. By the way, we had known that the Rock had COVID, Dwayne Johnson. I guess he's better now but he's talking about it.

Dwayne Johnson (00:19:35):

My wife, Lauren, as well as my two baby girls and myself, we have all tested positive for COVID-19. I can tell you that this has been one of the most challenging and difficult things we have ever had to endure as a family. And for me personally, too, as well. I've gone through some doozies in the past.

Barnes (00:19:58):

Is that now? I know the clip is now but is this from the past they tested positive?

Leslie (00:20:05):

Yeah, because they said he's on the other side of it right now.

Barnes (00:20:07):

I just wonder how long ago that was.

Cubby (00:20:09):

Do you know how they first suspected that they had it? No one could smell what he was cooking. Good night everybody, drive safely.

Leslie (00:20:19):

Then you saw Robert Pattinson has COVID, and he was in that number one movie over the weekend, Tenet.

Barnes (00:20:25):

I shouldn't even say this.

Leslie (00:20:31):

He's like the new Batman.

Barnes (00:20:32):

These sets and their protocols are kind of a joke. I mean, you walk by and they stick a thing near you and they go like, "Raise your nose up. You don't have COVID. Keep working." But when Batman gets it, you have to stop. I think that they probably overlook a lot. I don't have facts, I'm just saying that the tests ... My friends that work in the business say the testing is a joke.

Leslie (00:20:55):

I will tell you that I'm ...

Barnes (00:20:55):

They touch you and, "Nope, you don't have it."

Leslie (00:21:00):

... working for Viacom and they just had the VMAs and now we're working on the CMT Music Awards, the protocols are really, really, really strict.

Barnes (00:21:09):

Good. It should be.

Leslie (00:21:09):

Not quarantining and yeah.

Barnes (00:21:10):

Shows that are out in the field, they're getting very liberal with their testing.

Leslie (00:21:15):

By the way, I didn't mention this at the top of the show, but I watched Mulan, which Lanie has been wanting to watch. Remember it was supposed to have a huge theatrical release, but it came to Disney Plus over the weekend, we paid 29.95, 30 bucks for it. Because even if you have Disney Plus, you still have to pay for it. So it'll be really interesting to see how well it does.

Cubby (00:21:35):

That's messed up, by the way. You're already paying for a subscription and then you have to pay on top of that?

Leslie (00:21:42):

You have to pay on top of that. But I'm imagining of you have a family with a bunch of kids and stuff, that's still cheaper than going to the theater, right?

Cubby (00:21:48):

True. True.

Leslie (00:21:49):

Did you guys see that Billy Eilish is going to help design the logo for the 2028 Olympics?

Barnes (00:21:55):

That girl, she's so talented. She's getting so many cool unique gigs.

Leslie (00:21:59):

They're bringing 20 different creators. Well, I love what she said, is she said, "The font I chose is the font that I use for my logo. And who knows if that's going to be relevant in my life in eight years. But I have this whole thing about not wanting to please my past self or future self. It's all about pleasing your present self." That's what she had to say.

Cubby (00:22:19):

She's got a big future.

Leslie (00:22:20):

So should we go through the highest paid celebrities?

Barnes (00:22:23):

Of the year or of all time?

Leslie (00:22:26):

No, it says The Highest Paid Celebrities. This is the annual list from Forbes.

Cubby (00:22:31):

Now, correct me if I'm wrong, I thought we talked about how the Rock was leading one poll last week or two weeks ago.

Leslie (00:22:37):

Yes. I have the top 10. He is number 10.

Cubby (00:22:40):

The Rock is number 10?

Barnes (00:22:42):

I thought he was one. I thought he was one.

Leslie (00:22:44):

No. This is the Highest Paid Celebrities of 2020.

Cubby (00:22:47):

Here we go.

Leslie (00:22:48):

He's number 10, 87.5 million. LeBron James is number nine.

Barnes (00:22:53):

Look at that. That's with Coronavirus, people. Get off your couch.

Leslie (00:22:56):

It's crazy. 88.2. Howard Stern, 90 million at number eight. Number seven, Neymar, 95.5 million, soccer player. Tyler Perry at six. Tyler Perry is just always on fire, 97 million. Lionel Messi, I didn't know who that was. I had to Google him, 104 million. He's another soccer player. Number four soccer, Cristiano Ronaldo, 105. Did I say it okay?

Cubby (00:23:23):

Yeah, you nailed it.

Leslie (00:23:24):

105 million. Roger Federer, Barnes, 106.3 million.

Barnes (00:23:29):

Still?

Leslie (00:23:30):

Ain't that crazy?

Barnes (00:23:31):

Wow.

Leslie (00:23:32):

Kanye West, 170 million at number two.

Barnes (00:23:36):

Dang.

Leslie (00:23:36):

Any guesses as to the number one overall celebrity?

Barnes (00:23:39):

Cubby?

Cubby (00:23:41):

I'm going to go ...

Barnes (00:23:42):

Number one?

Cubby (00:23:43):

I mean, Justin Bieber?

Leslie (00:23:45):

That's a good guess.

Barnes (00:23:48):

Kim Kardashian.

Cubby (00:23:49):

Kim Kardashian.

Leslie (00:23:50):

No, it's in the family though.

Barnes (00:23:52):

Kylie?

Leslie (00:23:53):

Yeah.

Cubby (00:23:54):

Kylie.

Leslie (00:23:54):

Kylie Jenner, 590 million because she has that cosmetic line.

Barnes (00:23:59):

How does Kim handle that? She's not longer the queen. There is some new music going to run through. I was so impressed to hear ... Have you guys heard ... I'll play it and you'll know instantly who it is. And then of course, I'll tell you who it is. Have you heard this yet? (music) It's The New Bush. It's 1998 again, baby.

Cubby (00:24:20):

It sounds good. Gavin would be a great guest [crosstalk 00:24:23]

Leslie (00:24:23):

I love Gavin Rossdale.

Barnes (00:24:24):

I texted him this week. I haven't heard back from him, but I hope to get him on.

Cubby (00:24:27):

There's the name drop. We got one.

Barnes (00:24:29):

You just said you'd like to have him on. He was a-

Cubby (00:24:31):

I know, but just the way you said it, so nonchalantly, "Yeah, I texted him."

Leslie (00:24:35):

Very sad with what happened with he and Gwen, but back in the day, he and Barnes did hang out a lot. Seriously.

Barnes (00:24:44):

All the time.

Cubby (00:24:44):

No, I think you're ... I'll give you that. I do remember that.

Barnes (00:24:44):

We used to play tennis and all kinds of crazy stuff. So that's The New Bush. The album Front To Back is great. Check it out on whatever your streamer is. This is new from Sheryl Crow. (music)

Cubby (00:25:09):

She's always been nice. I know we've all met her a million times, right?

Barnes (00:25:11):

She's awesome.

Leslie (00:25:12):

She lives in Nashville.

Barnes (00:25:14):

Can you text her, Leslie?

Leslie (00:25:16):

She's awesome.

Cubby (00:25:16):

You can text her?

Leslie (00:25:17):

Her barn is nicer than most people's houses.

Cubby (00:25:20):

Please text her.

Barnes (00:25:20):

I like Sheryl. Tell her we miss her. I'm sure you've all listened to the new 6ix9ine, Punani. (music) Now here come a lot of beeps. (music) [crosstalk 00:25:48] and so on and so forth. Leslie, you know what Punani is?

Leslie (00:25:55):

I don't.

Barnes (00:25:57):

Oh, boy.

Cubby (00:25:58):

You're kidding.

Leslie (00:25:59):

No. What is it?

Cubby (00:26:00):

It's like a [inaudible 00:26:01].

Leslie (00:26:01):

It is?

Barnes (00:26:02):

It's not like a [inaudible 00:26:04]. It's a little ...

Cubby (00:26:06):

It's in that area.

Leslie (00:26:07):

Don't ask me to Google it, I'm not going to.

Barnes (00:26:09):

Leslie, what is punani?

Leslie (00:26:11):

I don't know.

Barnes (00:26:13):

P-U-N-A-N-I, look it up. Learning with Leslie, that's what the segment will be called.

Leslie (00:26:22):

Don't make me do this.

Barnes (00:26:23):

Punani, you've got to get hip to your pop culture.

Cubby (00:26:27):

This is the Pop Culture Show.

Barnes (00:26:29):

Learning with Leslie. Okay, go ahead. P-U-N-A-N-I.

Leslie (00:26:33):

It means beautiful flower.

Barnes (00:26:35):

Okay, keep going. What is it [inaudible 00:26:41]? What's a punani?

Leslie (00:26:45):

Hawaiian slang for vagina.

Barnes (00:26:50):

There you go. Leslie, you learned something today. The next time you hear punani ...

Leslie (00:26:54):

I learn every week on the Pop Culture Show.

Barnes (00:26:57):

So now listen to this song with a whole new ears. (music)

Cubby (00:27:06):

And we found our Pop Quiz question for next week.

Barnes (00:27:12):

All right, three more. I didn't know that this guy was still making music. This is another ... Can you tell who this is? Listen. (music) This is new.

Cubby (00:27:28):

I will tell you I like it. I love that house sound.

Barnes (00:27:31):

Billy Ocean.

Cubby (00:27:33):

Billy Ocean? Get the hell out. I love it. He's '70s, right?

Barnes (00:27:35):

It's called One World. His voice is so perfect.

Leslie (00:27:38):

I like Billy Ocean.

Barnes (00:27:40):

Two more. Aloe Blacc. (music) He's got a great voice, too.

Leslie (00:28:01):

He does.

Barnes (00:28:01):

Very distinctive. And last one, Phineas has a new song. We all know who Phineas's sister is, don't we?

Leslie (00:28:07):

Mm-hmm (affirmative), mm-hmm (affirmative). Billy Eilish's brother.

Barnes (00:28:10):

Yeah, Billy Eilish. I'm just making sure. (music) It's very sad. Who does he sound like? Sounds like almost ...

Cubby (00:28:41):

I was just thinking that. Like Coldplay for me.

Barnes (00:28:41):

Like a David Gray kind of thing. Yeah, like Coldplay. All new this week.

Cubby (00:28:46):

Barnes, Leslie, one of you have to have a Peloton. You strike me as Peloton people. I know for sure.

Leslie (00:28:53):

No, I have a rebounder.

Cubby (00:28:55):

What's a rebounder?

Leslie (00:28:56):

It's like a small trampoline.

Barnes (00:28:58):

Dude, she has it in her living room.

Leslie (00:28:59):

Yeah. I do 200 jumping jacks.

Barnes (00:29:03):

At random moments, they come over and do jumping jacks on a trampoline in their living room. I'm not kidding.

Cubby (00:29:09):

Well, God bless you. That's more exercise than what I'm getting.

Barnes (00:29:11):

I was editing last time I was there and all the sudden Lanie came out of nowhere and started flying in the sky like he's part of Cirque du Soleil. I'm like, "What's happening? What is this?"

Leslie (00:29:23):

But I have thought about the Peloton.

Cubby (00:29:25):

I've got great news because I've been thinking of a Peloton, too. It's been a little bit out of my budget. They are preparing to launch a cheaper treadmill and a new high end bike and they're going to cut the price of their existing bike. This new treadmill called Tread is going to cost less than $3,000 compared to $4,295 the current model. It'll be smaller and have a cheaper belt design like most other treadmills on the market versus the current models, slat design. The new stationary bike will be a premium offering called Bike Plus, and it will likely cost more than the current $2,245 version. Peloton will then drop the price of the existing machine to less than $1,900. That's the rumor mill. But shares have been falling.

Leslie (00:30:14):

That's really smart on their part.

Barnes (00:30:16):

That's a cult. It's almost like SoulCycle. Those people are into it no matter what you say.

Leslie (00:30:21):

Now, have you seen The Mirror?

Barnes (00:30:23):

I see the ad.

Cubby (00:30:24):

I've seen commercials for it.

Leslie (00:30:26):

It's pretty expensive, too. I think it's around five grand. It's expensive.

Barnes (00:30:28):

Is that a fake person or is it a real person?

Leslie (00:30:35):

I'm not sure. The designer, you mean? I'm not sure but ...

Barnes (00:30:35):

Can you like order like, "I want a blonde, 40 ..."

Leslie (00:30:39):

Your custom trainer. Barnes's custom trainer.

Barnes (00:30:42):

Can you build your virtual trainer or is it just a person that ...

Leslie (00:30:44):

That would be brilliant but...

Barnes (00:30:46):

... that pops on? I don't know.

Cubby (00:30:48):

Again, I'm happy about this because I've been on the border, I've been on the fence here and I think if it goes under $3,000.

Leslie (00:30:55):

He says that as he's tucking his shirt in.

Cubby (00:30:57):

I know because I'm feeling so fat guys. I really am feeling fat.

Barnes (00:31:00):

Put them in a category with Netflix. The pandemic has been very, very good to them.

Cubby (00:31:03):

Yeah, it really has.

Barnes (00:31:08):

Our next guest is the director of, as I put it last week, every show on TV, I think.

Leslie (00:31:14):

Pretty much.

Barnes (00:31:15):

Shark Tank, The Bachelor, Bachelorette, Family Feud, To Tell the Truth. Help me, Ken.

Ken Fuchs (00:31:21):

Celebrity Family Feud.

Barnes (00:31:23):

Celebrity Family Feud.

Ken Fuchs (00:31:25):

Misery Index.

Barnes (00:31:25):

See, I'm not kidding. Ken Fuchs, welcome to the show, sir.

Ken Fuchs (00:31:28):

Thank you. Thanks for having me.

Leslie (00:31:30):

Ken, how did you get started? I mean, this is pretty incredible resume. How does one get started as a director and now you have this incredible resume?

Ken Fuchs (00:31:38):

Well, that's a good question. I think if you ask 10 directors, you get 10 different answers. My path was a little circuitous. I started in production right out of college and I worked my way up in the production ranks, which gave me a really solid footing in how things are done and actually, I think made me a better director. Then somewhere along the line of being a production manager or line producer, I started AD-ing, assistant directing and then that led to directing. So I sort of moved up one ladder, jumped sideways into the more of the directing track and then got my break on a late night NBC talk show called Later with Greg Kinnear, which was a 1:30 AM talk show. Bob Costas used to host and then Greg took over, and I was the AD on that for many years and then started directing that.

Barnes (00:32:35):

Well, what was the first big show? When I say big, prime time. How did that jump happen? Because that's a big you know, 1:30 in the morning AM, on a network is of course, it's a big break, but the shows you're doing now are iconic.

Ken Fuchs (00:32:53):

I don't know exactly. I think I came around ... My career kind of coincided with the advent of ... Well, there was always variety television and non-scripted television. So I had the late night gig and that led to a daytime talk show with Roseanne. The ill-fated Roseanne talk show.

Barnes (00:33:13):

That did very well though, didn't it?

Ken Fuchs (00:33:18):

Not particularly.

Barnes (00:33:19):

No? I thought it did well.

Ken Fuchs (00:33:20):

It ran for two years and it didn't do good.

Barnes (00:33:22):

Oh, Roseanne. I'm thinking of Rosie.

Ken Fuchs (00:33:26):

No, no, no. Not Rosie. Roseanne.

Barnes (00:33:29):

I can see that. That had to be problematic.

Ken Fuchs (00:33:32):

It was incredibly complicated every day.

Barnes (00:33:37):

Did she used to yell at people?

Ken Fuchs (00:33:38):

Yeah. She'd yell at you and she'd love you and she'd hug you and she'd ... She was unbelievable. It was everything you would think it would be. I look back on it fondly and she was actually ... We actually were very close. But it was very difficult and just chaotic. It was just a lot of chaos in her life and in her brain. But super talented. She would have the interview once a week and she would say things and ask questions that nobody else would ask. So I think she was actually brilliant and creative and talented in a certain way. And then sort of challenged in another way.

Cubby (00:34:21):

Well, Ken, now you got me wondering. I know you don't work with Ellen DeGeneres but she's been ... You hear people say she's difficult. Do you know anybody at that camp that [crosstalk 00:34:31]

Ken Fuchs (00:34:31):

Hundred and hundreds of people have been through that camp.

Barnes (00:34:34):

Is this a sensitive topic?

Ken Fuchs (00:34:35):

Not for me. Not for me, no. I have no problem ... I don't know the woman, I only did ... I actually did the pilot for that talk show. It wasn't an airing pilot so they call it a presentation. But because I was working with Telepictures on Bachelor, they brought Ellen into the stage where we were shooting a Bachelor show and did a quickie sort of talk show, a couple segments to see if it worked.

Barnes (00:35:01):

Like a mock up?

Ken Fuchs (00:35:02):

Yeah, mockup. Mm-hmm (affirmative), exactly.

Barnes (00:35:05):

And you're saying what? That she was difficult then?

Ken Fuchs (00:35:08):

I don't know it was difficult, but I certainly didn't feel that warm and fuzzy feeling at the end of it. So I can't personally pass judgment on her. But I know over the 17 years of that talk show, the stories coming out of there have been pretty consistent and not very flattering.

Barnes (00:35:27):

So these stories aren't new. These have been going on for years. We're just not hearing ... I mean, this is the first we're hearing of them?

Ken Fuchs (00:35:32):

Yeah, of course.

Barnes (00:35:33):

Wow.

Leslie (00:35:34):

That's amazing.

Barnes (00:35:35):

Well, all eyes are going to be on her next week when that show comes back because she's going to have ... Do you think she's going to give like a speech or something when she comes out?

Ken Fuchs (00:35:41):

I mean, I guess so. I mean, she has to do some kind of damage control. I think I read something recently where she's offering something to the staff and crew in terms of ... I can't remember what I read, but definitely there's stuff going on there.

Cubby (00:35:57):

She have to pull an Oprah, "You get a car, you get a car," to everybody in the audience.

Barnes (00:36:01):

That's something.

Ken Fuchs (00:36:01):

Maybe. And maybe she didn't know everything that was going on. I know those executive producers a little bit. And I know a lot of the stories revolve around the atmosphere on the show and not necessarily Ellen per se and exactly personally. You never know on any show, really, what the disconnect is between production and the talent.

Leslie (00:36:24):

Ken, now the audition process is happening for a lot of these shows. I mean, obviously, you're looking for larger than life personalities. What sort of things are you guys looking for? Because it's got to make for great TV.

Ken Fuchs (00:36:39):

I think it's hard to pinpoint and that's why it's hard to know what will work. I'm not involved on the executive level or the corporate level in terms of deciding who they back for a show and who they don't. But I've done a handful and I've done some that I thought would be very successful with really talented lovely people. I did the Megan Mullaly daytime talk show for NBC and it was an incredible experience, but it didn't quite catch on and for whatever reason didn't go forward. I've done great shows that don't go move forward. And then I've done other shows that like The Bachelor that have lasted 20 years and ... I don't know if there's any explaining it really.

Barnes (00:37:27):

Well, any show you watch, if you pay attention, you're going to see at the end, "Directed by Ken Fuchs."

Ken Fuchs (00:37:32):

Let's hope.

Barnes (00:37:32):

Let's hope. It's funny to hear you go, "I need to pick up another show." Like, "Dude, you have Shark Tank, Bachelor, Bachelorette."

Ken Fuchs (00:37:41):

But you know this business, Steve, if you're not moving forward, you're moving backwards.

Barnes (00:37:44):

Well, you're pretty forward.

Ken Fuchs (00:37:45):

I'm pretty lucky. Let's put it that way. I have two shows for 20 years and one for 12. That's almost unheard of. And I thank my lucky stars every day, but all three could get canceled tomorrow. So you always want to be meeting new people and challenging yourself to expand your career.

Cubby (00:38:06):

Ken, I love the behind the scenes stuff. So one of the things I heard early on, I think, Barnes, you told me first. Is it true they do, like the Rose Ceremony taping, usually by that time, it's 5:00 AM because they've been drinking and hanging out and that's why sometimes everybody's a hot mess? Is that true, the Rose Ceremony is always early morning, practically?

Ken Fuchs (00:38:24):

It's a long night. Bachelor is a long process and it's a long night. So the first night they're meeting 25 to 30 people. So that's just incredibly long process anyway.

Barnes (00:38:40):

And there's a bartender, Cubby. Full on ...

Cubby (00:38:43):

Anything you want, right?

Barnes (00:38:45):

It's a huge bar.

Ken Fuchs (00:38:46):

Not me, not me.

Barnes (00:38:47):

No, yeah. But the bar is huge.

Ken Fuchs (00:38:48):

Well, the bar and that whole situation has also been toned down over the years because it was a little bit much. But each Rose Ceremony, as the season progresses, there's fewer cast members, the nights get shorter and shorter. The first night's really very long.

Barnes (00:39:07):

How did the people keep track? So when you're talking about these 20 ... The first night, there's all these people. How are people keeping up with these side storylines and with all the things that are going on in that house?

Ken Fuchs (00:39:20):

The producers, you mean?

Barnes (00:39:22):

So is there a producer for each person?

Ken Fuchs (00:39:24):

Not quite, but there's a lot of producers and there's story people and, you just kind of like any other reality show, you're behind the scenes, you're monitoring and keeping track of conversations and what's going in which direction and who she's talked to and who she hasn't and who needs time and who's going to get time. Somebody will get into a situation where they're sitting down for one-on-one with her and some guys might meet her with three of them at once. I think over the course of the first night, we try to give each guy or each gal a chance to have at least a few moments with them.

Barnes (00:40:03):

Cubby, Leslie, as you go into that house, which is actually someone's house, The Bachelor Mansion, how long does the guy live there? A couple years?

Ken Fuchs (00:40:12):

No, it's been there a while.

Barnes (00:40:13):

So you go in, if you ...

Ken Fuchs (00:40:15):

Well, we've been there eight years.

Barnes (00:40:16):

Yeah, a long time. You go in the garage and they've transformed this guy's garage into literally a control room. So there are cameras, I mean, there are screens all over the wall, there are people watching every little move. Then you go into ... What room has the producer, a room with all these producers who are watching individual feeds and crafting storylines? Or they ...

Ken Fuchs (00:40:38):

Exactly. There's chances for everybody to watch everything and you can kind of call up what you want to see or what you want to hear.

Barnes (00:40:45):

It's amazing.

Ken Fuchs (00:40:46):

Yeah. It's like if you were in a television studio, you'd have a control room or a truck. So when you're on location, you have to build out that infrastructure and that technology, which is a massive undertaking. Our team is incredible.

Barnes (00:41:02):

Have you guys ever busted anyone having sex?

Ken Fuchs (00:41:06):

No.

Barnes (00:41:06):

I'm surprised with all the liquor that's flowing and just the people trying to make a statement whether it's a guy or a girl.

Ken Fuchs (00:41:11):

No. There's not really that much opportunity for them to be alone off camera ...

Barnes (00:41:17):

I mean, they know the cameras are there but they're like, "Screw it. I'm going to go for it."

Ken Fuchs (00:41:21):

Now you're getting more into the Bachelor in Paradise world.

Barnes (00:41:24):

We can shift to that.

Ken Fuchs (00:41:25):

Well, I don't do that show so I can't speak on Bachelor in Paradise specifically but I think the rules on Bachelor in Paradise are different than the rules on Bachelor. The rules on Bachelor have always been try to keep things ... We don't want to have that happen early on because it just takes a ...

Barnes (00:41:45):

Well, fantasy suite is a fantasy suite ...

Ken Fuchs (00:41:46):

Fantasy suite is in Episode Nine when they're down to three. So until they're down to three ...

Barnes (00:41:53):

Keep it in your pants.

Ken Fuchs (00:41:54):

Yeah.

Barnes (00:41:56):

Until they're down to three and then it's all game on.

Ken Fuchs (00:41:58):

Then it's all good, yeah.

Leslie (00:42:00):

Ken, one of the shows you work on that I am obsessed with and literally can binge all day is Shark Tank. Do the sharks know in advance who they're about to meet?

Ken Fuchs (00:42:12):

So here's a very interesting thing about Shark Tank. And it's really fascinating because when you think about producing, if you were producing a show, you would want your talent to have as much research and information about what they're about to see and hear so they'll be prepared to make good television or radio. In this case, the producers were right on about this. It's exactly the opposite. They literally do not and cannot know anything about the companies or the products or the businesses because, A, it would give them an unfair advantage. But B, you'd lose the whole process of discovery and that discovery ...

Ken Fuchs (00:42:50):

So when you walk out on that rug and you say, "I have a scissor that cuts through anything." whatever it is, then go in, they start from ground zero. Who are you? Where are you from? What's your backstory? How did you get here? Why did you get here? What are you going to do with the money? What's your long range strategy? How do you scale ... All those questions, if they had any of those answers, they wouldn't ask those questions and that discovery process is what's so interesting to you and me as the viewer is these really brilliant investors asking really thoughtful and deep and important and meaningful questions that I either wouldn't have thought to ask or I wouldn't have put together. That discovery process is really the whole show.

Barnes (00:43:33):

I could watch 15 of those in a row. I mean, honestly, Leslie, it's an hour. When they come in and pitch, right, Ken? It's an hour-ish?

Ken Fuchs (00:43:44):

It's edited down into there's four per hour. So there's six acts. Two of the businesses get two acts and an act is seven or eight minutes. It's basically a half, it can be as short as a half hour, it could take as long as an hour and a half. But once they hit the rug, they do their 90 second pitch or two minute pitch, and then it's on. It's just Q and A, question and answer. And it sort of needs to go as long as the shark needs to go. We're a little bit at the mercy of the sharks because they're spending their own money. So we could hope that Mark Cuban makes a decision really quickly and decides to spend half a million dollars but it's half a million dollars. And if it takes him an hour to get to that decision, then it takes him an hour.

Barnes (00:44:31):

It's fascinating to watch.

Ken Fuchs (00:44:33):

I'll tell you what, what's really interesting to me is the whole process. When that hour is cut down to eight minutes or 15 minutes, it's still great on TV, obviously. It's the best of the best. But sometimes just that long process of watching it all go down in the studio is really fascinating.

Barnes (00:44:53):

As an entrepreneur, Leslie, sometimes when I'm in LA and they're in production, I will mark off a day on my calendar and I'll go there and I'll sit from 10:00 AM to 6:00 at night and watch the entire thing. Ken, come [crosstalk 00:45:07]

Leslie (00:45:07):

I totally see that, yeah.

Barnes (00:45:08):

Ken goes, "Dude, are you bored?" I'm like, "No." I mean, literally, it's like you're watching business deals go down with billionaires and you're a fly on the wall.

Leslie (00:45:19):

And they all play their roles so well. Especially Mr. Wonderful.

Ken Fuchs (00:45:23):

Yeah, that's right. Over the years, they've sort of crafted and created their own personas. And Barbara and Robert does his thing and Laurie. But Mr. Wonderful's one of my favorites, too.

Cubby (00:45:38):

Ken, do they set up a clunker? Like, "All right, we know this is not going to go well. We have to run."

Ken Fuchs (00:45:43):

Not we really but we shoot ... It was a 22 episodes, we have 88 companies and we'll shoot a few more than that and we prepare them to do well. In other words, we don't want them to come out there and lay an egg and not be ready. So the producers work with them for a while to get them up to speed and what to expect and to do their best. But this certainly turns out to be clunkers. Sometimes they're just, we can't have everyone get a deal, right? That's not the goal and that's not as interesting. But also the sharks they're so smart, they're going to get to something that probably or might be problematic and then they're going to pass.

Barnes (00:46:30):

I think some people listening might think that you're just covering for the show when you say that they don't know anything. What's fascinating is everything's covered up. So when they change out say, between Cubby pitching and Leslie pitching, the sharks go over and grab M&Ms and do whatever they do, go to the dressing room, whatever, and then they bring out the new stuff. It's all covered. Then the sharks actually have a team sitting 50 feet away on their laptop, who also don't know what's coming. So then Cubby comes out the door and these guys are researching it for the first time.

Ken Fuchs (00:47:05):

You don't want to have the ... Again, you want the process of discovery. You don't want them knowing, and so we keep the props and the art department on one side of the stage away from the sharks and away from their [crosstalk 00:47:17] people.

Barnes (00:47:17):

I love that it's authentic.

Ken Fuchs (00:47:17):

Yeah, it's pretty authentic. Exactly. And look, that's always the word everyone throws around. And it's really the word. It's really, really the critical part of what makes any of these show successful, Bachelor included, which is the authenticity. If you really believe and you feel and you know that this is happening live and in the moment, it's just so much better.

Barnes (00:47:41):

Do you think you're desensitized to these personalities and these billionaires? I think that it would be weird to be around that many people as your job every day that are that influential and you're seeing this circus of A plus personalities moving around and you're directing them.

Ken Fuchs (00:48:04):

Yeah, I guess so. Although they're sort of in my backyard. The stage, that's my familiar place and more so than theirs. Now, if I were to go into their companies or their boardrooms, I'd probably be nervous as hell and freak out. But they're in my playing field and they want to do well and they want the show to do well and they want to come off on, they want them to do good deals. So we're there to sort of help them. They're also just lovely, lovely people. We've had great guest sharks, but our six originals are just all, to a man and woman, just lovely, sweet, nice, smart, collaborative people.

Barnes (00:48:44):

It's intimidating. Cubby, imagine this, one of the times that I was there, we were going to go to lunch. Ken, we're going to walk across the lot, it ends up being at one table. Me, Ken, Richard Branson, and Mark Cuban.

Leslie (00:48:59):

That's a little intimidating.

Barnes (00:49:00):

I just sat there and didn't say anything hardly until we started talking about the Caribbean. But it was just weird to see these two billionaires just shooting around. Like, "Yeah, whatever, whatever. Hey, what Caribbean island should we go, " I mean it's just ... Branson, of course, owns a Caribbean island but it was just weird ...

Cubby (00:49:19):

That they were talking like we would be talking at lunch.

Barnes (00:49:21):

And then just like it's normal but then we go inside and Ken's like, "Give me the phone. I need to get a picture." You got to picture Branson. That's the first time I've seen you do that, get a selfie.

Ken Fuchs (00:49:31):

I was a little fanboy of Branson and ARod. I had to get a picture with ARod and send it to all my Red Sox fan friends.

Cubby (00:49:39):

Ken, how's taping going to be going on with the COVID thing going on? You're going to be in a bubble?

Ken Fuchs (00:49:45):

We've done a lot of combinations. All the shows have done a really great job. A lot as you know are back in production. Some are more remote, Zoom style and everybody sort of remotely ...

Barnes (00:49:57):

Who's Zoom?

Ken Fuchs (00:49:58):

It wasn't the voice ...

Barnes (00:50:03):

I thought you're saying your shows.

Ken Fuchs (00:50:05):

No, no, no, no, no. Different shows are doing different things. But basically, the non-scripted world is getting back into production pretty successfully and with super strict protocols. Testing, masks, social distancing, Plexiglas.

Barnes (00:50:21):

What about Shark Tank? How is that going to work?

Ken Fuchs (00:50:21):

Shark Tank's back in production. You'll have to see it. I don't want to give away too much. We've tried all the shows. Same with Family Feud, which we're shooting here in Atlanta. We're trying to maintain the basic bones of the show. So when you watch it as a viewer, you'll be able to appreciate it, enjoy it just like any other season. But there are some ramifications and there are some accommodations in terms of social distancing.

Barnes (00:50:49):

But what about sharks? Can you talk about where it's being shot? It debuts on the 16th.

Ken Fuchs (00:50:55):

I can't remember whether it's a secret or not, but what production has done is created a bubble. Exactly what you were saying, Cubby. We try to create somewhat of a bubble so that the cast and crew are safely in this together and without so much coming and going and external factors in terms of any elements that might create a COVID situation. Everyone's willing to do it. The crew is all very happy to do it. Everyone's thrilled to be back to work. As difficult as it is with the masks, I'm sure everyone knows, it's worth it to A, stay safe and B, be able to be back at work safely and still making good television.

Barnes (00:51:45):

Do the Shark contestants come out with a mask on?

Ken Fuchs (00:51:50):

No, so the unions have done a really thorough job of coming up with recommendations. The IAA and the DGA and SAG-AFTRA have really work together on coming up with their blueprint for what production will look like going forward. The on-camera talent has a mask. Everyone wears a mask as long as possible. But then if you're rolling and you're on camera, you can take off your mask. Then the hair makeup and wardrobe people, anyone working, there are sort of zones, so that zone closest to the talent, they call them different things on different shows, but those people are most heavily protected. Protected for their sake and also for the artists, for the talent's sake. Then people more behind the scenes like myself are in another zone. We have different protocols. But it's all the same stuff. Wiping down everything thoroughly, constantly. So things are taking a little slower, taking a little longer, and that's okay, because we all want to be safe.

Leslie (00:52:54):

Ken, I have to ask this question. I mean, you're a mega director of all these television shows. What are do you doing in Barnes's basement?

Ken Fuchs (00:53:04):

I ask myself that very same question all the time.

Barnes (00:53:08):

Because we have good steak.

Ken Fuchs (00:53:09):

The other day I went and I was like, "I'm getting a little depressed." Although it's really, I'm pretty happy to be here. And then I went open up my shade and I was staring at the ground and I realized, "I'm in a bunker and it's a bunker mentality." And you know what? It's that mentality that gets us through production. Everybody's in it together. We're all just keeping our head down and working hard and not focusing on how things are different than they used to be. But no, I really appreciate Steve's offer because it's really beautiful.

Barnes (00:53:41):

Stay calm. We feed him steaks, we take him to the local eateries.

Ken Fuchs (00:53:45):

It's not bad.

Barnes (00:53:45):

Laundry.

Ken Fuchs (00:53:46):

It's not bad.

Barnes (00:53:47):

Well, let's talk about your house in Calabasas, California. You have some very interesting neighbors like Kim and Kanye.

Ken Fuchs (00:53:57):

Hidden Hills has kind of blown up. When I first moved Calabasas, Hidden Hills was a little sleepy little town and then with the reality shows and ... Who was it? Jessica Simpson and ...

Barnes (00:54:10):

Do they live in Hidden Hills?

Ken Fuchs (00:54:11):

No, they lived in my old neighborhood in Calabasas. So that started the craze of reality shooting and Hollywood. And then rich people became very aware of who was out there. I lived on the same street as the Jenners in my old house. My boys grew up with Kendall and Kylie, and roughly the same age. They moved eventually. Kris moved to Hidden Hills and the kids moved to Hidden Hills and I moved to Hidden Hills. It's just a whole thing now out there.

Barnes (00:54:45):

Your house was ... Who was it? Nick Carter?

Ken Fuchs (00:54:46):

Yeah, my house was Nick Carter [crosstalk 00:54:48]

Barnes (00:54:48):

Nick Carter's house.

Ken Fuchs (00:54:49):

Yeah. When he took the gold records off the wall, there's still the mark on the wall from ...

Barnes (00:54:57):

Trick or treating in your hood must be insane. You got The Weekend, you got Kim and Kanye. Who else?

Cubby (00:55:03):

I don't know. You don't recognize them because they're wearing an outfit.

Ken Fuchs (00:55:06):

Yeah. I'm not sure they're doing the whole ... I'm not sure they do the whole trick or treat thing. Drake's in there. And there's a lot of old school Hollywood. It was kind of a enclave of writers and composers. It's a little far out of town so it's not people who really want to have 9:00 to 5:00 necessarily but a lot of creative types out there.

Barnes (00:55:31):

There's a little van, Cubby, Leslie, sitting down in front of Kim and Kanye's. I guess that's their security or just some dude just sitting in there?

Ken Fuchs (00:55:37):

I'm sure the security.

Barnes (00:55:39):

Which is in a secured gated thing and then you got the little dude in the van.

Ken Fuchs (00:55:44):

I haven't tempted fate but ...

Cubby (00:55:46):

Little dude in the van. I'll give you a podcast right there.

Barnes (00:55:49):

Hey, the next week on Little Dude in The Van. The reason he's here is because of Family Feud. It got moved back here ... It was here for many years and went to LA. Then why did it come back?

Ken Fuchs (00:56:00):

When Steve Harvey took over, we came out here. That was 10 years ago. We did seven years here in Atlanta. And then Steve got very busy in LA with his talk show and Little Big Shot so we just decided to do Feud back in LA because he was already in LA most of the time. And now he's back mostly in Atlanta so we're back in Atlanta. We were in LA for three years and now we're back here. Steve's just, I mean ...

Barnes (00:56:27):

He's insanely funny.

Cubby (00:56:28):

I've met him a couple of times. Such a nice guy, too.

Ken Fuchs (00:56:31):

It's such a perfect blend of talent and format.

Barnes (00:56:34):

But the thing is, Family Feud sucks. Hold on, let me finish my sentence.

Leslie (00:56:38):

Wait a minute.

Barnes (00:56:39):

Sucks compared to when he's off on a break of Family Feud. If you could capture the commercial breaks, the dude is on all the time.

Leslie (00:56:51):

I can see that, yeah.

Ken Fuchs (00:56:52):

He's unbelievable. I'm like, "Steve, why don't you take a break?" Some hosts go in the back and take a break or ...

Barnes (00:56:59):

He's on it like he's doing a stand up gig.

Ken Fuchs (00:57:02):

He feels really committed to an audience that's come and to see him. It's really like going to a live stand up special every day.

Barnes (00:57:11):

So what now? Now he doesn't have a full audience.

Ken Fuchs (00:57:12):

Well, it's interesting. Now, I thought it would really suffer and I didn't know how he would handle it. For some hosts and for some comics, that would be deadly not to have the two or 300 people out there. But he's amazing. I think his experience and his ... He's just such a hard worker. He's really giving it his all and he's doing great. The shows are as funny as before. The audience is really just a handful of family members that aren't playing that game and somehow he brings it to life and he's doing his best job ever. Because when you watch it on TV, we'll sweeten it, you won't ever know that it's not a full audience.

Barnes (00:57:54):

You know how he does that stare, Cubby and Leslie?

Cubby (00:57:57):

Like he knows what we're all thinking?

Barnes (00:58:01):

He does a lot with his eyes.

Cubby (00:58:02):

Right, right.

Leslie (00:58:03):

His expressions are priceless.

Cubby (00:58:04):

It's great.

Barnes (00:58:05):

Watching him tape one time, somebody gave him a wrong answer. And so a production person or something walked up and gave him a card and the card said the wrong thing, right? So they start taping, he goes, "Survey said ..." They do it and it was the wrong thing. He immediately started making fun of himself when Miss Universe or Miss America, whatever, when they gave him the wrong card, remember that?

Ken Fuchs (00:58:29):

That was classic.

Barnes (00:58:29):

Whichever one it was. He started making fun of himself. Like you see him just start rolling about, "This has happened to me before." People are laughing and cackling. Then in an instant, he just snaps, I mean, it's like a snap and he goes right back to it. And he goes right back to presenting the show. His outtakes, I wish ...

Ken Fuchs (00:58:49):

His outtakes are amazing.

Barnes (00:58:50):

They need to publish that.

Ken Fuchs (00:58:51):

Maybe. The long form streaming version, too hot for TV.

Barnes (00:58:56):

Well, thank you for coming on. We could talk for hours about your shows. We need to mention of course, that October 13th, The Bachelorette returns. I've tried to put a gun to Ken's head to get some scoop because there's all kind of talk going on about the drama happening on the season. I guess we're just going to have to watch.

Ken Fuchs (00:59:15):

It's so much better to find out for yourself.

Leslie (00:59:18):

Ken, this was fascinating. Thank you.

Ken Fuchs (00:59:20):

My pleasure. It's great to meet you, guys.

Barnes (00:59:22):

Bachelorette, October 13th. Shark Tank, October 16th. And Bachelor, when? Do we know that? This year?

Ken Fuchs (00:59:31):

We're shooting but it airs in its typical frame, which is ...

Barnes (00:59:35):

January?

Ken Fuchs (00:59:36):

Yeah.

Cubby (00:59:36):

Roseanne's still canceled?

Ken Fuchs (00:59:38):

Roseanne's still canceled. I haven't heard from her, yeah.

Barnes (00:59:41):

I don't know that you will. She's off on an island. All right. Ken Fuchs, thank you for coming on the Pop Culture Show.

Ken Fuchs (00:59:48):

My pleasure.

Barnes (00:59:52):

There was a story this week that when I heard the audio and saw what had happened, it was freaking unbelievable. Did you hear about this tower story at LAX?

Leslie (01:00:02):

No.

Cubby (01:00:02):

I heard it from you, but I haven't heard the whole thing.

Barnes (01:00:04):

Listen to this clip. This is a pilot approaching LAX calling the tower with a problem.

Speaker 8 (01:00:10):

Tower, American 1997, we just passed a guy in jetpack.

Speaker 9 (01:00:14):

American 1997, okay, thank you. Were they up to your left side or right side?

Speaker 8 (01:00:18):

Off the left side. I think maybe 300 yards or so. I don't know.

Barnes (01:00:27):

A jet pack. The pilot just passed a guy on a jetpack at 3,000 feet.

Cubby (01:00:33):

And it was you, probably.

Barnes (01:00:34):

It was my new toy. Can you imagine?

Leslie (01:00:37):

Was it David Blaine?

Barnes (01:00:38):

I know, right? He was the guy with balloon. "We just passed a guy with balloons." A dude with a jetpack at 3,000 feet.

Cubby (01:00:46):

That's pretty interesting, actually. You know they have that problem with drones all the time. But a jetpack ...

Barnes (01:00:51):

A human at 3,000 feet near your plane.

Cubby (01:00:55):

Wait, did you say 3,000 or 300?

Barnes (01:00:55):

3,000.

Leslie (01:00:57):

That's insane.

Cubby (01:00:58):

That is really insane.

Leslie (01:01:00):

Was somebody filming a movie? Was it a stunt man?

Barnes (01:01:05):

I don't know anything about jetpacks and honestly, I have not looked into buying one. But 3,000 feet seems really high.

Cubby (01:01:10):

A jetpack would be very cool to have though, wouldn't it? I've always worried would I burn my feet though.

Barnes (01:01:15):

Drones are limited to 400 feet. So if you see a drone at 3,000 feet, that's a long way down. They're just giving up their drone because you only have so much battery.

Cubby (01:01:26):

Is it possible this pilot thought it was a jetpack, but maybe he was skydiving and he had not launched his parachute yet?

Barnes (01:01:34):

I think a pilot would know what a jetpack. Just listen to the beginning.

Speaker 8 (01:01:37):

Tower, American 1997, we just passed a guy in a jetpack.

Speaker 9 (01:01:41):

American 1997, okay, thank you. Were they up to your left side or right side?

Speaker 8 (01:01:45):

Off the left side. I think maybe 300 yards or so.

Barnes (01:01:53):

300 yards from a jet.

Cubby (01:01:55):

Yeah. I mean, he's lucky. That jetpack guy or girl is lucky that he didn't get caught up in the backwash if they're that close.

Leslie (01:02:02):

Barnes, you need to do a follow up for us on this.

Barnes (01:02:04):

Well, near an airport. Who would fly near an airport in a jetpack, anyway? Because you've got planes. LAX what? Arguably at the top five busiest airports?

Cubby (01:02:12):

Yeah. I tell you who would, dummies. Big dummies.

Speaker 1 (01:02:20):

This is Cubby's Pop Culture Throwback, a rewind into the vault of music, movies and moments.

Cubby (01:02:26):

Well, guys, I thought we'd go back to this week the year 2000. Not too long ago, but it's still weird to say, "20 years ago it was 2000." That's still hard to believe. Right?

Barnes (01:02:37):

That was pandemonium where everyone thought clocks were going to stop working.

Cubby (01:02:41):

Y2K. My mom bought all that Y2K crap, by the way. All kinds of signs and T shirts.

Barnes (01:02:47):

Where were you when the clock rolled in 2000?

Cubby (01:02:50):

I was doing a live broadcasts for Z100 right near Times Square for 1999 to 2000. How about you, Barnes?

Barnes (01:02:59):

I was in London on the trip for Doc Martens. We've given away something on 99X and we took people to see [crosstalk 01:03:06]

Leslie (01:03:06):

I have those photos by the way.

Barnes (01:03:07):

To rollover.

Cubby (01:03:08):

We get that two frame?

Leslie (01:03:09):

Yeah. I have photos of us in some pub, Barnes.

Barnes (01:03:12):

You were there?

Leslie (01:03:13):

Yes.

Barnes (01:03:15):

Wow, I forgot that.

Leslie (01:03:16):

Remember we took a bunch of people ... I have the photos. I saw them the other day. We had fun.

Cubby (01:03:23):

Well, here are the big songs that were on the charts after Labor Day Weekend the year 2000. On the pop charts, Janet Jackson from the Nutty Professor soundtrack a song called Doesn't Really Matter (music). I know you guys are playing alternative music but you know the song?

Barnes (01:03:42):

I've never heard that in my life.

Leslie (01:03:43):

I have.

Barnes (01:03:44):

What?

Cubby (01:03:47):

Great song. All right. Number one song on the country charts this week in 2000, it was a song called That's The Way by Jo Dee Messina. Am I saying that all right?

Leslie (01:03:57):

Yeah. Jo Dee Messina. (music)

Cubby (01:04:07):

I'd never heard the song until I got the hook for the show here and I like it.

Leslie (01:04:10):

It's good.

Cubby (01:04:12):

It reminds me of a lot of things around at that time that we're crossing over pop like Faith Hill and the Shania Twain's of the world.

Barnes (01:04:19):

I fully thought you're about to play a guy. Jo Dee Messina.

Leslie (01:04:24):

That's right.

Cubby (01:04:25):

I know, right? I didn't know ...

Barnes (01:04:25):

I mean, you hit me with that.

Cubby (01:04:29):

The number one song on the R&B charts this week in the year 2000 was a song called Wifey by the group Next (music).

Leslie (01:04:40):

I don't remember that song.

Barnes (01:04:43):

Dude, I must have been in a vacuum in 2000 because I don't [crosstalk 01:04:45]

Leslie (01:04:44):

What happened in 2000?

Cubby (01:04:46):

Their big song on the pop charts was (music).

Barnes (01:04:55):

Okay.

Cubby (01:04:56):

Okay. The number one song on the pop ... I'm sorry on the modern rock charts this Week in 2000, the song starts and it's all hooked. Are you ready? (music)

Barnes (01:05:11):

Love it. (music)

Cubby (01:05:11):

Title and artist, please. Title and artist.

Barnes (01:05:17):

Papa Roach.

Cubby (01:05:19):

And the song's called?

Barnes (01:05:19):

Last Resort.

Leslie (01:05:20):

A lot of the '99, 2000, a lot of the stuff in the world was hard.

Barnes (01:05:25):

That was a big shifting year.

Leslie (01:05:26):

Yeah, it was a big shift.

Cubby (01:05:28):

The number one movie this week in 2000 was a thriller, I have totally forgot about it actually, starring Keanu Reeves, James Spader, and Marisa Tomei, it was called The Watcher. Here's a clip of the trailer.

Speaker 10 (01:05:43):

Now, the killer you couldn't stop ...

Speaker 11 (01:05:45):

Don't play hard again. This will be far from truth.

Speaker 10 (01:05:50):

... has come calling ...

Speaker 12 (01:05:51):

We have received another photograph.

Speaker 10 (01:05:53):

... for his next victim.

Speaker 11 (01:05:55):

Do you think some of your patients might pay to come to see you because you're very pretty?

Cubby (01:06:01):

That's bad.

Leslie (01:06:04):

Every time I hear Keanu, it's like ...

Cubby (01:06:06):

I know. You remember that movie though? The Watcher?

Barnes (01:06:10):

No.

Leslie (01:06:10):

I never saw it.

Cubby (01:06:11):

No. It was number one.

Barnes (01:06:13):

I didn't exist in the year 2000. I'm not knowing one of these things besides Papa Roach.

Cubby (01:06:20):

If you don't know this one, we have a problem. Everybody was watching this TV show this week in 2000.

Speaker 13 (01:06:27):

From the four corners of the continent, we have flown them to New York City. People just like you who pulled off phone number dreaming of instant riches. But one of them sees this day have the knowledge and the courage to change the course of their lives in one short evening starting tonight and every night for the next two weeks. Join us from New York City as we play Who Wants to be a Millionaire?

Barnes (01:06:49):

Rest in peace, Reg.

Leslie (01:06:53):

I know. Made me sad when he just ...

Cubby (01:06:53):

And that was this week 20 years ago, kids.

Barnes (01:06:55):

Thank you, Cubby. Please rate, review, and subscribe. Please, please, please. We are the Pop Culture Show.